New Gas Bottle for my Hobart 210 MVP

[coxhaus]

I am thinking about buying a new gas bottle for my Hobart 210 MVP welder. I was thinking smaller, lighter than my 130 C25 bottle on my Hobart 2510 MIG welder. What do you think about a CO2 bottle? It will be smaller and lighter.

The other option is to maybe think about getting a second bottle for Argon or maybe c10 so I can play with spray. I have done it in welding class but never at my house, not sure I will need it.

I plan to load .023 wire in my Hobart 210 for really light stuff? Not sure I need this? I have pulled my .035 wire from my Hobart 2510 and I have it loaded with 10-pound spool of .030 wire right now. I still have half or more of a 40-pound .035 wire spool left that fits my Hobart 2510. The .030 seems to fit me better as the .035 wire was a little heavy for some of what I do and I only owned 1 MIG welder. Now that I have 2 MIG welders I could change around.

I need to weld sometimes sheet metal on BBQ pits, grills and farm machinery.

[Dale M.]

For me the size gas bottle is basically for logistics and cost of fills..... I personally have a 170 cu-ft bottle on my my HH 140 because the nearest refill place is 37 miles away.... As for wire size I find .030 and C25 to be a ideal combination for me...






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[coxhaus]

I have that covered as I already have a larger C25 bottle. It is as heavy as I can lift nowadays. It seems like I should buy a different kind of gas for a second MIG.

[MAC702]

CO2 is useful, as it can support slightly thicker welding, and is more economical (usually) to fill/exchange and a bottle lasts longer as most of the gas is compressed into a liquid in the cylinder.

The Ar/CO2 mix is the nicer for weld cleanup and thinner material.

It's nice to have both in a full-service shop. You'll need a regular designed for straight CO2. It will freeze the regulators that usually come with a machine if all you do is get an adapter for the different cylinder thread configuration.

[coxhaus]

What is a good size CO2 bottle? I have an old Victor regulator rated for Argon and CO2. My flow rates will be small enough that I think the regulator will work.

A small welder, a small bottle, small wire and 120v capable will make me a kind of a portable rig. I still want to buy a big enough CO2 bottle to make it worthwhile because I will use it at home most of the time.

[Rangerhgm]

I have a 20lb CO2 bottle for my 210MVP. I get it filled for $20 at the local safety shop where they fill fire extinguishers.